Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Dungeon Crawler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dungeon Crawler 2D Fighter?

2D Fighter + Dungeon Crawler

Of 24 developers who shipped a Dungeon Crawler 2D Fighter in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 35 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 16 developers shipped in the last year and 35 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 1690% on the market, 35 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter + Dungeon Crawler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $300 → $2.2k → $475 → $0 → $299 → $1.0k → $299 (still earning) → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter + Dungeon Crawler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $2.3k (exactly $2,307)
Top 5% $58k (exactly $57,540)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 71
Announced 35
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 1690% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.

2D Fighter
effort 5 / 10 · low · frame-precise animation and rollback netcode
Dungeon Crawler
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
2D Fighter, Dungeon Crawler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Roguelite, Action
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2.5D, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,055 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $300, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $57k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. All of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Fighter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomanceStrong odds8 devs · median $4.0k · 6 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair11 devs · median $4.0k · 12 announced
  3. + Card BattlerFair10 devs · median $1.0k · 11 announced
  4. + DeckbuildingFair17 devs · median $959 · 12 announced
  5. + Auto BattlerFair16 devs · median $719 · 19 announced
  6. + IdlerFair9 devs · median $599 · 18 announced
  7. + RhythmFair10 devs · median $599 · 12 announced
  8. + SimulationFair51 devs · median $598 · 55 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair16 devs · median $538 · 13 announced
  10. + ManagementFair10 devs · median $449 · 14 announced
  11. + SuperheroLong shot11 devs · median $959 · 12 announced
  12. + Resource ManagementLong shot13 devs · median $390 · 14 announced

All 129 pairs on the 2D Fighter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Backpack Jianghu 2026 · $237k Blazing Aries 2022 · $209k Age of Barbarians Chronicles 2026 · $58k Shana - Priestess of Tona 2025 · $57k Santhai 2022 · $53k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Backpack Jianghu $13.99 565 80% 17k $237k (exactly $237,130) 背包工作室
Blazing Aries older $18.99 366 87% 11k $209k (exactly $208,510) Kuroto Zakka
Age of Barbarians Chronicles $18.99 101 76% 3.0k $58k (exactly $57,540) Crian Soft
Shana - Priestess of Tona $9.99 190 74% 5.7k $57k (exactly $56,943) Lustration Team
Santhai older $12.99 137 89% 4.1k $53k (exactly $53,389) Hardworker Studio, Rachan Neamprasert
PlatyGuard: Swarm Slayer $14.99 117 74% 3.5k $53k (exactly $52,615) ChillyRoom
Slime Dungeon · EA older $29.99 36 77% 1.1k $32k (exactly $32,389) Irinkutor
东方十昊狱 ～ Hella Dazzling Hell!! · EA older $9.99 58 67% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,383) Lonhong Team
Type or Die $13.99 29 31% 870 $12k (exactly $12,171) Type or Die
Pixel Pirate older $24.99 14 78% 420 $10k (exactly $10,496) Stas Paty9mkin
Grendel's Cave $6.99 11 100% 330 $2.3k (exactly $2,307) Grendel Enterprises, L.L.C.
Chemical Combat $8.99 7 100% 210 $1.9k (exactly $1,888) SigmoidDev
Taram Baba $4.00 15 93% 450 $1.8k (exactly $1,800) Sofa Interactive
Hack & Schlitz $2.49 14 100% 420 $1.0k (exactly $1,046) RadGames
Idle Squire $4.99 6 50% 180 $898 (exactly $898) White Cape Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.